Mastermind of the Akatsuki

Not long after leaving his family's residence, Itachi arrived at the police headquarters.

Apart from meeting with the masked man, he had come specifically to check whether the clan's radical members had been eliminated. As long as these radicals were completely eradicated, the remaining women, children, and elders would lack the strength to carry out a coup.

Moreover, during his earlier conversation with Shisui, Itachi had confirmed that Shisui had no ambition to become Hokage. Shisui preferred to be a shadow Hokage, working in the darkness rather than leading overtly.

Under these circumstances, it was unlikely that the remaining clan members would hate the village; instead, they would transfer their hatred onto him, harboring deep resentment toward his actions.

With this, his goal was essentially achieved.

He had successfully diverted the clan's hatred away from the village and solidified his role as someone willing to take extreme measures for power. The next step was to infiltrate the masked man's organization and gather intelligence.

Although this path as an undercover agent was arduous, as long as it benefited the village, it was worth it.

Only through such action could he find some meaning in his otherwise dull life, preventing him from slipping into despair or giving up on himself.

After scanning the area, Itachi quickly located the masked man.

From the surroundings, it was clear that a battle had taken place at the police headquarters. The scale of the conflict wasn't large, suggesting it had been a one-sided fight.

This was likely due to the immense power of the masked man's space-time abilities, as well as the overwhelming strength of the Mangekyo Sharingan against ordinary Sharingan users.

Itachi couldn't help but wonder what abilities his own newly awakened Mangekyo Sharingan contained—were they space-time related, or did they lean toward genjutsu or ninjutsu?

Leaping down from the walls, Obito appeared beside Itachi and spoke, "Is everything resolved on your end?"

Itachi nodded and then asked, "Masked man, how about you?"

Obito hesitated, feeling somewhat awkward, but since Byakuya had taken away the Uchiha bodies, he decided to shamelessly claim the credit, saying, "These Uchiha have really grown weak over the years. It only took me two minutes to deal with all of them."

Pausing for a moment, Obito continued, "I've upheld my end of the deal. Now it's time for you to leave Konoha and join my organization."

Itachi, unaware of Obito's embarrassment, nodded lightly and said, "I'll join your organization, but first, there's something I'd like to know."

"What is it?"

"Your name," Itachi said. "If I'm going to be your subordinate, I should at least know your name—and the name of your organization."

Obito glanced at the crimson moon in the sky, then at Itachi, and replied, "You can call me Madara Uchiha. As for our organization's name, it's Akatsuki."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. He had just agreed to follow the masked man, yet the other party remained evasive, even unwilling to share the organization's real name.

Itachi had heard of Akatsuki—it was a group active in Amegakure.

The current leader of Amegakure, Yahiko, and his comrades had originated from that organization. How could Akatsuki have someone like the masked man? It was clearly a lie.

As for the name " Madara Uchiha," there was no need to doubt—it was definitely fake.

His plan to gather intelligence by becoming the masked man's subordinate was already proving more difficult than he had anticipated.

Seeing Itachi's disbelief, Obito was helpless. He had told Itachi half-truths, but the boy was too suspicious to believe him.

Of course, Byakuya's propaganda played a role as well.

Even though both he and Byakuya aimed to wage war against the Five Great Nations and capture the tailed beasts, Obito was forced to hide in the shadows like a rat. Meanwhile, Byakuya operated as one of Amegakure's leaders—a shadow king influencing multiple villages.

Thinking of this, Obito felt a sting in his chest. He had to admit that jealousy had crept into his heart.

---

At the Police Headquarters

Watching Itachi leave, Shisui turned to Fugaku and Mikoto, who were holding their younger son, Sasuke Uchiha.

Taking a deep breath, Shisui spoke to Fugaku, "Fugaku, thanks to your son, you and Mikoto are already considered dead. From now on, you have two choices: join my Root forces as elite jonin, or live with the other powerless clan members who have been relocated."

Hearing Shisui present these two options, Mikoto instinctively hugged Sasuke tightly and said anxiously, "Can't we stay with Sasuke or take him with us?"

Shisui shook his head and replied, "Mikoto, I'd like to agree with you, but tonight Sasuke is the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan—by Itachi's explicit request."

"But Sasuke is still so young. He can't handle such immense pressure." Mikoto tried to convince Shisui, but Fugaku stopped her.

"Mikoto, this is Itachi and Shisui's decision. We can only trust them and follow through."

After a pause, Fugaku looked at Shisui and asked, "Shisui, if we join Root, what will we need to do? Where have the other clan members been sent? And who are you really working for?"

Shisui answered calmly, "As Root members, you'll follow Root's rules. From now on, you'll live hidden lives with no names or identities. As for where the others have been relocated, and who I serve—I can't tell you. All you need to know is that the ordinary, non-shinobi clan members will be well cared for, and it will remain that way."

Fugaku and Mikoto exchanged a look and made their decision: "In that case, we will join Root and serve as its shinobi."

Shisui was surprised by their decision but nodded approvingly.

Root was currently in desperate need of manpower. With Fugaku and Mikoto joining as jonin, Root's strength would increase significantly, which would benefit their future operations in Konoha.

After finalizing the Uchiha clan's fate, Fugaku and Mikoto shared a final glance at Sasuke before following Shisui's lead into the shadows. From this moment on, they were no longer the Uchiha clan leader and his wife but nameless shinobi serving in Root.

Shisui looked at Sasuke for a moment before transforming back into Danzo's appearance using the Transformation Jutsu.

In the shinobi world, only a clan that had already "died" could avoid true destruction. Most of the Uchiha had been relocated across the shinobi world, while those who remained in Konoha would live as unseen ghosts.

Clearing his wandering thoughts, Shisui approached the outer perimeter of the clan grounds.

By now, the area was surrounded by dozens of ANBU shinobi, with none other than the Third Hokage leading them.